Van Marwijk cuts provisional Dutch squad to 27
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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Among 36 players selected last week, uncapped trio Jetro Willems, Adam Maher and Luciano Narsingh have retained their places in the Netherlands' reduced provisional squad.
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Bert van Marwijk has retained three uncapped players in his reduced, yet still provisional, 27-man Netherlands squad for UEFA EURO 2012.
PSV Eindhoven left-back Jetro Willems – at 18 a possible candidate to replace injured club-mate Erik Pieters in the starting XI – AZ Alkmaar midfielder Adam Maher and sc Heerenveen forward Luciano Narsingh will travel to a training camp in Lausanne on Thursday having been on the 36-strong list released by Van Marwijk on 7 May.
Two surprise omissions from that enlarged selection are Urby Emanuelson and Hedwiges Maduro, capped 14 and 18 times respectively. The other seven players cut from the party announced last week are: Alexander Büttner, Jasper Cillessen, Ola John, Erwin Mulder, Nick Viergever, Stefan de Vrij and Georginio Wijnaldum. From the team which started the 2010 FIFA World Cup final, only retired left-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst is missing.
In attack, Van Marwijk must decide whether to pair Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar together, both of whom have enjoyed prolific seasons in England and Germany respectively, or continue with his policy of deploying one central striker.
"They can play together," said Van Marwijk. "I'm glad that Klaas-Jan became top scorer in Germany and Robin in England, but I'm also glad that Wesley Sneijder is fit again and Arjen Robben has been doing good things."
Club commitments this weekend preclude Robben, Ibrahim Afellay and Stijn Schaars from joining up with the rest of squad, but the trio could be considered for selection when the Dutch play UEFA Champions League finalists FC Bayern München in a friendly on 22 May. The Oranje then tackle Bulgaria (26 May), Slovakia (30 May) and Northern Ireland (2 June) before travelling to their tournament base in Krakow on 4 June.
Provisional Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Newcastle United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea City AFC).
Defenders: Vurnon Anita (AFC Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), John Heitinga (Everton FC), Joris Mathijsen (Málaga CF), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (AFC Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven).
Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City FC), Siem de Jong (AFC Ajax), Adam Maher (AZ Alkmaar), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Wesley Sneijder (FC Internazionale Milano), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur FC)
Forwards: Ibrahim Afellay (FC Barcelona), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (FC Schalke 04), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Jeremain Lens (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (sc Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München).
